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| ▲ In this file photo, an electronic signboard in the dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul shows the South Korean currency closed at 1,439.90 won against the U.S. dollar on Sept. 28, 2022, down 18.40 won from the previous session, amid mounting concerns over a global recession. (Yonhap) |
foreign reserves-September tally
Foreign reserves shrink at fastest pace in 14 yrs in September amid strong dollar
SEOUL, Oct. 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's foreign reserves shrank at the fastest pace in about 14 years last month as authorities unloaded dollars to stall the local currency's excessive slide against the greenback, central bank data showed Thursday.
The country's foreign reserves had stood at US$416.77 billion as of end-September, down $19.66 billion from the previous month, according to the data provided by the Bank of Korea (BOK).
This marked the fastest pace of an on-month decline since October 2008, when the reserves declined by the largest ever $27.42 billion in the midst of the financial crisis.
Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, International Monetary Fund reserve positions, special drawing rights and gold bullion.
September's decline came as South Korea is struggling with the won's fast descent against the U.S. dollar amid worries that aggressive monetary tightening in major countries could throw the global economy into a recession.
The won has depreciated around 16 percent against the dollar so far this year.
The BOK and the finance ministry have unloaded dollars to stem the won's sharp slide with the government repeatedly warning of necessary action if herd behavior persists. The BOK, however, did not disclose data on dollar selling last month.
The foreign reserves decline was also attributed to a decline in converted value of non-dollar assets due to the dollar's continued ascent, the BOK said.
Foreign securities, such as U.S. Treasuries, had been valued at $379.41 billion as of end-September, down $15.53 billion from the previous month. It accounted for 91 percent of total foreign reserves.
The value of deposits also decreased $3.71 billion on-month in September to $14.19 billion, which made up 3.4 percent of the total.
South Korea had been ranked the world's eighth-largest holder of foreign reserves as of the end of August, the BOK said.
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